


Promise of Return

by kabanatawrites



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Reincarnation AU, Soulmates, angst is just in the first chapter i guess, as im writing this... angst is definitely not just in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26423548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kabanatawrites/pseuds/kabanatawrites
Summary: [y/n]'s dreams brings her back to her past life, showing memories of the person she holds dear.If only she could go back to him, but sadly that person her past life cherished so much was currently living as a popular idol known almost to everyone.With how things ended in the past, and how things are, maybe the two of them weren't meant to be together at all.Reincarnation/Soulmate AU
Relationships: Morisawa Chiaki/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

[100 years before]

“THEN BAM! Evil was defeated forever!!” Morisawa Chiaki, a captain guard from the capital, animatedly told the orphan children another of his favorite hero stories.

All the children that surrounded him beamed and clapped at his story, and wanted to hear more.

If anything, this was already a normal thing for the captain guard who was assigned to protect a small village by the province, a day away from the capital via horse-back.  
Everyday, Morisawa Chiaki would visit the village’s orphanage and tell the children of his favorite hero stories, if not, he would play with them just so he could see the children’s faces light up.

Of course, other than the children, there was another thing he was after.

“I don’t really see why we have to spend so much time here in the orphanage each day… What a bother.” Midori, a tall light haired brunette, stated as he watched his captain being swarmed by little children.

“Shishishi” The smaller male beside him laughed. “Isn’t it obvious?” The captain is obviously trying to win Lady [l/n]’s affections!”

“Eh? Gross… Why would Lady [l/n] want Captain Morisawa? He’s so… loud, and clingy….” Midori tried to explain.

It wasn’t like the young guard hated his captain, in fact, he highly looked up to the older male. It was more of the two having different wavelengths which for some reason could never match. But despite that, the captain was highly regarded, and Chiaki easily got along with everyone he met, so it was no different when he, Takamine Midori, got assigned to Chiaki’s squad. The older male was easily able to break through his barriers.

“Takamine!! Are you talking badly about me again! I am quite hurt you know!” Chiaki called out from the swarm of children trying to tackle him. “Hurry, help me take care of these children!”

“No way!” Midori strongly rejected their captain. “That looks too tiring! Ugh this is so tiring, I want to go home already.”

“You’re leaving already?” A voice spoke up behind Midori and Shinobu. “I was hoping you’d eat lunch with us, I just finished buying all the needed ingredients.”

“Lady [l/n]! You’ve returned!” Shinobu beamed at the older woman.

“Yup! Thank you for watching over the children while I’m gone.” [y/n] then stopped to look around a bit to see who else was there along with the children. “Shinkai and Nagumo aren't with you three?”

The two younger male shocked their heads and Shinobu replied, “Sir Shinkai and Tetora are tasked to roam around the village for any possible attackers or any suspicious people.”

“I see..” [y/n] nodded before the two.

She then tried to readjust her hold on the basket she carried, since it was quite heavy from all the ingredients she bought, and she was starting to feel the weight of it after carrying the basket for quite some time.

“Here, let me carry that for you!”

Suddenly the basket was taken away from her only to finally see Morisawa Chiaki standing in front of her, with a swarm of children trailing right behind him, and one kid apparently being carried on his back and was playing with the brown locks of hair on the captain’s head.

From an outsider's point of view, it looked like Chiaki had the kids under control, but as someone who’s spent quite a lot of time with him these past few months, it was obvious that the kids were obviously in control over Chiaki, and making him do whatever they wanted.

[y/n] couldn’t help but give a slight giggle from the sight of it, but at the same time it warmed her heart knowing that the captain of the guards assigned to their small village was taking the time to take care of a few abandoned children due to the war currently taking place.

“Thank you Captain, but are you sure you’ll be okay with it? Your hands seem… A bit full…” You told him.

“This is nothing!” Chiaki told the girl as he puffed out his chest to emphasize his words. “As a man, I cannot let a woman carry such heavy things! Come children, let us bring these ingredients to the kitchen!”

The children surrounding Chiaki then cheered in unison and followed after the male. The group headed towards the orphanage’s kitchen.

The sight warmed [y/n] heart. She really appreciated how much effort Chiaki was putting when helping her out in the orphanage.

If anything, Chiaki wasn’t really required to assist the orphanage in the first place. She remembered how she first met him, how the past guards assigned to protect their village had introduced Chiaki and his squad. If anything, the switching of guards was already a normal occurrence for the village people. Afterall, the area [y/n] lived in was quite far from the capital, and nothing much really happens, so most of the time, the guards end up getting bored with the lack of action and then request the capital for a change in assignment.

But Chiaki’s squad was different. They had stayed in the village for almost a year now, the longest any capital squad had stayed in, and honestly, when they were introduced, [y/n] had zero plans at all in mingling with these guards when they arrived. She after all, was too busy taking care of all the children who have lost their parents in the war, or those that were abandoned due to whatever their parents' reasons were. And as much as possible, she wanted to give each child in her orphanage the same care and love any child would receive from a parent. 

Then one day, she got caught into trouble by a group of travelers. It was just supposed to be a normal day where [y/n] went out to buy ingredients, and during that time, she had to bring the children with her since there was no one else around the orphanage to look after them. The oldest child after all was only eight years old.

So while she was looking for ingredients by the market, the children trailed behind her, but without noticing, one of them had bumped into a group of travellers that had just arrived.

“I-I’m sorry sir!” The child spoke, only for that child to be grabbed by the traveler.

“Oi brat! Don’t just walk away when you’ve bumped into someone!”

[y/n] heard the commotion and instantly tried to calm the traveler.

“Sir please! He’s just a child, and he already apologized!”

But the traveler just sneered at the sight of [y/n].  
The stranger then pushed the kid away and grabbed her instead. The children then started to panic with how things had started to unfold, but [y/n] tried to reassure them and told them to stay behind her, hoping that her small frame could protect them despite the fear and pain she was starting to feel with the man grabbing her arm.

And before things could get worse, [y/n] heard steps running towards them, and a voice spoke up.

“You there! How dare you lay a finger on a woman!”

Suddenly, [y/n] was pulled free from the traveler, and then he, Morisawa Chiaki, stood between her and the traveler, his hand placed near the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it anytime if the traveler and his friends tried to do anything dangerous.  
“As captain of the guards assigned to this village, I will not allow you to harm this woman and let these innocent children witness such violence!” The brunette said. “If you do not want any more trouble, leave!”

And the travelers did.

At that moment, you knew your heart started swelling from the captain’s heroic stunt, but what you didn’t expect was how he acted after he finally turned around to have a clear look at you and the children.

When he looked at you, suddenly red started to hint at the captain’s cheeks, which you obviously didn’t notice with how you bowed your head towards the male as you gave your thanks.

“No! I mean yes! I mean…!” Chiaki tried to accept the girl’s gratitude only to become a stuttering mess in front of her.

Oblivious to the captain’s flustered reaction, [y/n] started introducing herself and the children, telling the captain how they were orphans. She didn’t know why she did at that time, but she felt like after he saved her and the children, it wouldn’t be so bad to tell him who he had saved.

Chiaki then of course proceeded to introduce himself in reply, but obviously he failed at first being a stuttering mess, and ended up introducing himself as Morifawa Miaki. Which was then of course cleared up later on after [y/n] had met the rest of the guards, because after that incident, Chiaki for some reason, had made it his duty to constantly visit the orphanage every day without fail.

Looking back at those memories, it made her realize why she started to have feelings for the captain. Because [y/n] knew that just like her, Chiaki as well cared about the children as much as she did, but despite her growing feelings, she made sure to keep it to herself. She had to, because she knew that one day, Chiaki would have to leave the village for a different assignment, and her feelings will lead to nothing.

“Lady [y/n]” Shinobu spoke up, trying to catch [y/n]’s attention.

“Oh sorry, I was just thinking of something.” she told the younger male as she finally snapped out of her daydreaming of the past.

“It’s fine, but we should head to the kitchen before Captain Morisawa burns it down.” He said as he walked a few steps ahead of her, “Oh, but worry not! Midori is already with him to make sure the captain doesn’t do so!”

[y/n] couldn’t help but laugh at the statement.

As cool and heroic Morisawa Chiaki was, he was still a mess in other aspects of life, and also a big nerd on top of everything, but it’s because of those traits that [y/n] loved him.

\----

“You’re leaving?” [y/n] asked the brunette that sat beside him.

The two were sitting by a bench just outside the orphanage, watching the children play in the small open space.

[y/n] then saw Chiaki nod at her question, then the male spoke up. “The capital has requested for back-up since the attack by the country’s border is being overpowered by the enemy.”

It was [y/n]’s turn to nod at what he had said, to show that she understood what the captain had said.

Then Chiaki continued to speak. “If anything, our group is assigned to take out any intruders that managed to slip past the border. we can’t have them take anymore innocent lives. If we let them be, their terror will reach even further around the country. It might even reach here…” His voice was strained saying the last few words, his hands turning into fists at the thought of the people in this village being hurt.

Chiaki really hated the thought of violence, and he hates those who start it. The reason why he became a guard in the first place was to prevent such violence, to stop the fighting without spilling any blood, or at least the most minimal amount if needed. But in this time and era, where war was prominent, where selfish rulers want nothing but to take everything from those who are weaker, spilling blood was rather unavoidable. He was just lucky that he was born in a country where their king wasn’t like those rulers, but because their king wasn’t like the others, it made their country an easy target to conquer.

The male was then pulled out of his thoughts when he heard [y/n] speak.

“Then can you promise me something?” Her voice was soft, and if Chiaki tried to listen even harder, he could hear the slight shakiness in her voice.

“What is it?” He replied

“That you’ll live.”

Chiaki’s eyes widened at the sudden request.

As a child who read so many books about a knight and guard’s heroic tales, he had read situations similar to this, but never had he thought that he'd experience it himself.

He would be lying if he said he never fantasized such a situation, but now that he was experiencing it first hand, he was mixed with so many emotions at once. He was thrilled, truly, that [y/n] cared about him that deeply, that she wanted him to stay alive as much as he wanted her to be as well, but at the same time it hurt. It hurt knowing that with his kind of work, living the next day is not a 100% guarantee.

So how? How was Morisawa Chiaki supposed to reply to that promise?

He tried to open his mouth to say something, but closed it again not knowing what words to put out, then [y/n] spoke up again, cutting his train of thought.

“Promise me that you’ll live. Because even if you don’t come back here, even if I don’t get to see you again… Knowing that you’re alive somewhere in this world is enough for me. Enough for me to continue breathing.”

Then he could see it, the tears that [y/n] tried to hold in.

She didn’t want to cry, not in front of him. Not when she knew that this day would come, the day that he would leave her, because duty comes first over everything else, and she was just a simple village girl, someone that could be easily replaced.

Then all negativity was pulled away from her when Chiaki had engulfed her in his embrace.

He clung onto her as if his life depended on it, as if once he lets go of her, she would be gone for good. Then he felt [y/n] wrap her arms around him as well, her hands clinging on the back of his uniform.

Her head leaned on his shoulder and he felt the tears fall from her eyes. Her body trembling a bit due to her unable to hold her cries any longer.  
The brunette rubbed circles in her back hoping the gesture could calm her a bit, and when it did, Chiaki then loosened his grip on [y/n] and took her face in his hands as he leaned his forehead with hers.

Their eyes locked on each other. Chiaki’s eyes held the same gentle and warm expression it always had.

Behind the male’s loud personality, he was genuinely a caring and considerate person. Another reason why [y/n] had fallen for the male.

“I… Sorry, Captain…” [y/n] tried to apologize after finally calming down and realizing the proximity she had with the male and the intimate way he’s holding her. She tried to look away, not being able to handle the intense gaze Chiaki had on her as their foreheads stayed pressed against each other and his hands held her in place.

“Chiaki.” He told her.

[y/n] couldn’t help but look back at him again.

“You don’t have to call me that now but…” He said, never breaking eye contact. “But, I promise you that I will come back for you and the children. And when that day comes, I want you to call me by my name.”

[y/n]’s eyes then widened at his sudden declaration to her.

“So yes, I promise you that I’ll live, I’ll continue living so that one day I can return to you, and bring you to the capital with me, you and the children. That way… That way we can never be apart from each other.”

Then in that instant, it was Chiaki’s turn to be engulfed in her embrace. Her whispering in his ear that yes, she will definitely wait for him and that day to arrive, that she’ll wait no matter how long.

Thanks to this, the pain of the two of them being apart felt a little less painful with something to look forward to. A future of them together.

He promised that one day he’ll return, and when that day comes, he’ll take her with him to the capital so he could be with her and protect her forever.

Sadly, that day never came. Because by the time he went back to the village for [y/n] and the children, everything had already been burned to the ground.

Morisawa Chiaki never got to see [l/n] [y/n] again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the concept of past lives and reincarnation and all that so i decided to write a story related to it!~ and honestly, it took me a while to finally get a storyline i was satisfied with that could match the theme, but we're finally here!~  
> (but if i were to be honest, the first storyline I thought of was for Izumi, but then I wanted to write for Chiaki, mostly because not only is he my best boi, but also because its almost his birthday....)
> 
> Anyways, i always imagine chiaki as the type of idiot who would fall in love at first sight... but hes my idiot and i love him, so i hope yall love him as well. AAHHAHA  
> Next chapter will be in present time, since i tried my best to fill in the past life story in this first chapter skdgjhskjd


	2. Chapter 2

The flames were enclosing on them fast.

[y/n] tried her best, if not to stop,or at least slow down the spread of the flames surrounding them.  
She poured the last bucket of water around the flames while the children all huddled behind her by the bath filled with water.

When the flames started in the middle of the night, [y/n] had instantly told the children to run towards the bath and made sure each of them were wet from the water it held. This way the flames wouldn’t reach them until she could stop the flames from spreading even further.

Sadly that plan didn’t turn out so well since now they were out of water aside from the one in the bath which kept the children somewhat safe.

From the looks of it, outside the orphanage wasn’t any safer as well.

[y/n] could hear people screaming and panicking from outside. If she listened even more closely, she’d also be able to hear the sudden splatter of blood, swords swinging and slicing their targets.  
Hearing all this chaos unfolding made her stomach churn.

With everything going on, it was already clear that enemies had invaded this far from the border.

The thought of it brought her despair, but she couldn’t show it, not when the children were behind her, not when they were crying due to the fear of what's to become of them.

She had to be strong, not for herself, but for them.

All [y/n] could do now was walk towards children and hug each child to comfort them. To comfort her. And maybe if she hugged each of them tight enough, maybe, just maybe her small frame would be enough to shield them from these flames.

Soon enough, the flames had creeped in on them closer and closer, and [y/n] couldn’t help but whisper an apology.  
An apology to the children, for failing to protect them. And an apology to him, that she couldn’t keep her promise.

The promise she made with her most cherished, a future of them together.  
  


* * *

  
Her eyes instantly flew open  
.  
Her body tense and sweaty, as if the heat of flames from her dream was real.

“That dream again.” [y/n] told herself.

She checked the time on her phone which was placed by her bedside table.

_5:42 AM_

It was too early for her to get up and get ready for work, so she stayed within the comforts of her bed. Her thoughts wandering back to her dream.

If anything, this wasn’t the first time she had that dream. It started a few months back while she was at work, when she finally let her kindergarten students enjoy their break.

A group of kids were playing around calling themselves meteor rangers and all that, all the while trying to battle for the title of Ryusei Red.  
When the children couldn’t decide on who should claim the title, they ended up running towards their teacher and asked her instead.

“Teacher! Teacher! Who should be Ryusei Red!” The small child asked, his face sporting a pout. “It should be me isn’t it!”

Then another child spoke up saying that they should claim the title instead.

[y/n] shook her head at their antics and kneeled on the floor so you could listen in on their conversations better and so that she could see all of them eye to eye.

“Ryusei Red?” [y/n] tried to ask them.

Then the child who first walked up to her was the first to speak.

“Yeah! Ryusei Red of Ryuseitai! He’s the coolest!!”

[y/n]’s mouth then sported an ‘o’ as a sign that she was listening and interested.

“I see! Ryusei Red of Ryuseitai… Could you tell me more about this person? They seem really interesting!” [y/n] asked genuinely curious about this character the children are mentioning.

It wasn’t like she was doing that because it was her job, but honestly, [y/n] really loved children, which was the main reason why she pursued a teaching career.

The children then swarmed her telling her of heroic stories about the group Ryuseitai and its members.

One kid then mentioned, “Morisawa Chiaki-san is really amazing! One day I want to be like him! A hero of justice!”

Then [y/n] paused at the sound of the name.

“Morisawa… Chiaki…?” she repeated.

For some strange reason the name felt oddly familiar. Not just in a sense of ‘oh i heard about you somewhere!’, but more of the feeling like home. The name for some strange reason, warms her heart. Yet she knew nothing about a Morisawa Chiaki, or even heard the name before. Not until now that is.

After that conversation with her students, [y/n] had started having dreams of a world far away from her.

It was just small snippets at first. Her managing an orphanage, watching over children.

Then as the days passed, her dreams as she slept became more and more detailed.  
Her living in a small village during the olden warring times, a time when the monarchy ruled all.  
And then she finally met him in her dreams. Morisawa Chiaki, captain of a small group of guards from the capital.

“Is it even possible?” [y/n] asked herself, as she still lay on her bed staring at the ceiling above her.

From the looks of it, the sun had started to rise, since small rays of light tried to peek through her window blinds.

“Could these dreams be my past life?”

It was the only thing that popped into her head. She was after all interested in the concept, and had watched a documentary about it once, where there were people who for some strange reason had glimpses of their past selves in different ways. May it be from their dreams, or sudden flash of images in their heads.  
Of course the idea of it really got you hooked, yet you still felt a bit skeptical about it. How was it even possible? Being reincarnated after hundreds, or even thousands of years! Was that really possible? Is this really the reason for her dreams?

Rather than waiting or figuring out an answer, [y/n] decided to get up and get ready for the day.  
She did her usual routine. Get in the shower, brush her teeth, fix her hair, and get changed.

By the time she finished putting on some powder and lip balm, it was already 6:58 AM. It was more than enough time for her to reach the pre-school where she works at.

The place was just around a 15-20 minute walk from her small studio apartment, so as she walked her way there, she plugged in her earphones to her phone and played some music. Specifically Ryuseitai’s music.

Ever since she heard about the group from her students back then, she tried to learn a bit more about the group once she got home. That’s where [y/n] found out that the group was apparently an idol unit with a heroic theme, which made kids like them a lot. But despite their audience revolving more on children, due to their upbeat music, and their members, as [y/n] would have to admit, were visually pleasing, it wasn’t a surprise that they also had a big growing fanbase from teens to adults, especially girls.

Thanks to all this knowledge, [y/n]’s thoughts started to drift again as she walked to work.

It made her wonder if it was truly possible, that she was connected to the one and only Morisawa Chiaki of Ryuseitai. And she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to, since she was starting to grow a bit of a crush on him after researching about the male a bit.  
Yet the thing was, she had to remember that whether or not her dreams may be memories of her past life, the two of them are living an entirely different life now.  
She was just a simple kindergarten teacher, and Morisawa Chiaki was an idol with so many fans vying for his attention. So to Chiaki, [y/n] was obviously a nobody to him.

“Maybe this is why I had to die back then…” [y/n] whispered to herself.

_‘So yes, I promise you that I’ll live, I’ll continue living so that one day I can return to you’_

The words from her dreams repeated in her head.

Maybe, some promises were never meant to be kept to begin with.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned to only have angst in the first chapter but here we are...

Everything was gone, burned to the ground.

The five guards who rushed all this way to check up on the village was left stunned. But the one who had the hardest time in letting things sink in was the captain.

“Chiaki” the voice came from the vice-captain, Shinkai Kanata.

The captain was then pulled back out from the dark negative thoughts building up inside him.  
The dread and weight of everything around him still clung to him, but he had to give out orders.

“Nagumo, Takamine, Sengoku! Scout the entire area and check for survivors! If you find anyone suspicious, don’t hesitate to halt and question them!”

“Y-yes captain!” The three saluted.

It was obvious that the younger members of the team were also shocked by what happened, but they had to follow orders, and they had to move fast.

The three younger members then ran around the area, checking every nook and corner.  
When it was only the captain and vice-captain left, Chiaki looked at Kanata, hoping to get a bit of strength knowing that his best friend was with him in these trying times.

“Will you come with me to where the orphanage is?” The captain asked.

Kanata nodded in response. “Let us get going then... shall we?”  
  


* * *

He wasn’t prepared.

He tried to, but no matter what sort of preparation he did, he couldn’t accept what he had just found.

The moment Chiaki and Kanata arrived where the orphanage used to stand, Kanata was the first to take action, pushing Chiaki lightly on the back as if signaling the brunette that they had to move if they hoped to find something.

Chiaki was thankful for that. During the times he felt like breaking down, AKA now, Kanata was there to ground him. It was also the same in reverse, and this was the reason why the team worked so well with each other.

The captain then willed his legs to move, checking every nook and cranny of where the orphanage used to stand.

To think something with so much life before was now… so dead.  
Chiaki shook his thoughts away, continuing as he turned every fallen debris, in hope of finding something. He can’t allow himself to be swallowed by these thoughts, not when there might be survivors.

[y/n] was a strong person after all, he tried to reassure himself. She would definitely find a way out of this and save herself and all the children.

That’s right, he kept telling himself that. It was the only thing keeping him together after all.

Then in the corner of his eye, he saw water dripping near the rubble he stood at.

Instantly, the male ran towards it, trying to remove all the debris toppled over each other.

Maybe, maybe they were under all this weight, waiting for him to rescue them.  
The very little amount of water that trickled around the debris gave him slight hope. Thinking that [y/n] really did her all to try to survive this chaos. That she and the kids tried to protect themselves by pouring water all over them.

It was a common survival tactic in trying to get through a fire.

So Chiaki continued to move the rubble that surrounded the area, the only thing left blocking him from finding what he wanted was a giant piece of wood, which he assumed was the ceiling that had fallen thanks to the fire.

The captain instantly called out Kanata to call for help.

“Kanata! I need help in carrying this! I think there’s something under it!” Chiaki called out.

He really hoped he was right, but what he didn’t expect once they removed the rubble was [y/n]’s lifeless body, and below her, as if trying to shield them from harm, were the unmoving bodies of the children, which he assumed were also long gone as well.

They suffocated.

Chiaki fell to his knees and was left frozen in place, staring at the corpse of the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Her body had suffered severe burns, most likely from trying to protect the little ones.

Everything was definitely crumbling. He couldn’t hear anything, or feel anything. It was all so numbing for him as he continued to stare at [y/n]’s lifeless form.

He wanted to at least hold her form one last time, but fear held him down, knowing that once he held her in his arms, he wouldn’t feel that same warmth she always had. The warmth that gave him comfort whenever she stood near him, whenever she gave subtle touches, like holding his hand, or clearing his bangs away from his face. Those subtle movements that left him craving for more. For Chiaki knew that the moment he met her, he wanted her to be his forever.

Yet everything was gone before that could even happen.

As his thoughts continued to consume him, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

The brunette looked up to see his best friend looking at him with concerned blue eyes.

The two of them stayed quiet for a few moments, both not knowing what to say.

Then the silence was broken.

“I… I couldn’t save them… Her… the children… no one. If I had been here earlier… If I never left then…!” Chiaki was rambling. All his negative thoughts started pouring out of his mouth and he couldn't stop.

“It cannot be helped, you are not at fault Chiaki.” Kanata’s soothing voice tried to reassure the brunette, but it was no use.

“BUT I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING!” Chiaki shouted. He didn’t mean to, but his emotions were running rampant and he had no where to place them. “If I never left, this would never have happened! If I just brought her and the children to the capital earlier on, then they’d still be alive!”

Kanata didn’t say anything, he just listened as Chiaki let all his frustrations out. Once in a while, he would squeeze the brunette’s shoulder, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to hopefully comfort the male.

“How… How can I call myself a hero if everyone I cared for died anyway…”  
  


* * *

  
A poke on his cheek, then a voice came in.

“Chiaki…”

In that instant, Chiaki’s eyes flew open. He wasn’t sure if it was from the poke on his cheek, the sudden voice, or the dream he just had.

“Huh!?” He sat up and saw Kanata was sitting on the floor beside his bed.

“You are finally awake.” Kanata beamed at the brunette.

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” Chiaki replied, trying to get his bearings together. Sitting up instantly after an insane dream made his head swirl a bit. He noted to himself not to do that ever again. “Did you need anything Kanata? What time is it anyway? I’M NOT LATE FOR A JOB AM I?”

Suddenly the brunette panicked as he tried to stand up, but Kanata instantly calmed him down, as the blue haired male stood up and kept Chiaki seated on his bed.

“Not to worry, it is still morning, and you are not late for any job.” Kanata said.

Chiaki sighed with relief at what his friend had just told him.

The brunette didn’t really mind sleeping in, in fact he does so once in a while whenever he got way too tired with the amount of work he does.

‘A hero cannot function well without getting enough rest!’

Is what he would always tell himself and his roommates after a tiring day of idol work.

“Anyway, did you need anything Kanata? Why did you wake me up?” Chiaki asked his friend.

Kanata then proceeded to sit beside Chiaki on the bed and said, “The children, your roommates, they called for me. They said they could not wake you when you seemed to struggle in your sleep. Are you having those dreams again Chiaki?”

The said male nodded in response. His brows knitted, a sign that he was rather frustrated at wherever it was running through his head.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Kanata asked, hoping to lessen the weight of Chiaki’s thoughts.

“Kanata, when I first told you about my dreams, you said that it’s most probably my past life revealing itself.”

“Mhm.” The blue-haired male nodded in response, eagerly listening to whatever his friend had to tell him.

“At first I thought it was really amazing! It felt like I was one of those chosen heroes or something!” Chiaki started out with a bit of excitement, but the tone of his voice dimmed with what he said next. “But lately, my dreams have been more frequent and vivid. I didn’t really mind it at first, since I also got to see everyone from Ryuseitai, how we were still together back then! But other than that, my dreams seem to be turning darker each time.”

And it was true. When Chiaki first had a glimpse of his past in his dreams, everything seemed perfect for him. He was with his treasured Ryuseitai, he saved people, but most of all he met someone who had completely stolen his heart.

He may not have met that person in this timeline yet, but seeing [l/n] [y/n] in his dreams, Chiaki couldn’t help but fall for her all over again. And because of his growing feelings for the girl he sees in his dreams, he couldn’t wait every night to fall into a deep slumber just to see her again. Yet not everything was perfect. For some strange reason, his dreams now consisted of him leaving her, her dying, and him unable to save her.

Just thinking about it, Chiaki couldn’t help but grip the sheets of his bed. He hated it, he hated how things were turning out in his past life, that is if what Kanata said was true. But what Chiaki hated most was not understanding, understanding why he was seeing all this.

“Did something happen to the girl?” Kanata suddenly asked, and he knew he hit the target seeing how Chiaki instantly stiffened from the question.

“Y-Yeah…” Chiaki didn’t know how to explain the entire thing to his friend, or rather, he didn’t want to. Thinking about it was already stressful for him, and having to put it to words? Could he even place words on what was running through his head?

Luckily Kanata got the hint that Chiaki couldn’t tell him everything, and he respected that. So to clear Chiaki’s mind, he stood up from the bed and took hold of the brunette’s hand.

“How about we puka puka for a while.” Kanata smiled at the brunette.

Chiaki then looked at his friend skeptically. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to Kanata’s antics, but did the male really want to soak in the pond this early in the morning? He was sure he already told Kanata not to dip himself in the pond early in the morning since it might make the blue-haired male sick due to the morning breeze.

Then as if to answer the brunette’s question, Kanata spoke up once more.

“Walking can clear your head. We can go wherever you like.”

Chiaki nodded at his friend and decided to get ready. Once the brunette was done, the two left ES building with no exact destination. This eventually led them to the nearby shopping district.

Since it was the weekend, the shopping district was livelier than usual, restaurants were filled with starving guests, different shops having promos and discounts all over. Families gathered together, friends meeting up, and children playing around. The energy definitely lightened Chiaki’s earlier gloomy mood, making him slowly forget the dream that he just had.

As the two continued to walk and enjoy the sights, they were eventually led to a familiar place they always frequented. A small shop full of gacha machines.

“Oh! I wonder if they have new gachas today!” Chiaki eyed the machines from a distance.

“Would you like to check?” Kanata asked his friend, already knowing the answer.

“Are you sure? I’ll just have a quick look if that’s okay!”

“It is fine, you can take your time Chiaki.” Kanata reassured his friend.

The brunette instantly went to check the gacha machines without a moment of hesitation, while Kanata stayed a few steps away from the store and continued to watch Chiaki look at each gacha available. The blue-haired male couldn’t help but give out a smile watching his friend check out each machine along with some random kids. It truly made Kanata think that Chiaki may be an adult, but he truly still was a child at heart, and it was one of the things Kanata loved about his friend.

While Chiaki was easily engrossed looking at all the new hero type gachas available, suddenly a child walked up to him trying to catch his attention.

“Y-You’re Ryusei Red!!” The child said as he pointed at Chiaki.

Kanata being the observant one on the side noticed this instantly and joined in.

“Chiaki, it seems the child here recognize you.” Kanata spoke up.

The kid who earlier called out to Chiaki was suddenly wide eyed with Kanata’s appearance, easily recognizing who he was.

“I can’t believe it! You’re Ryusei Red and Ryusei Blue right?” The same kid said as he looked at both Kanata and Chiaki.

Chiaki getting easily influenced by the child’s energy beamed at the child and ruffled his hair.

“Oh! You recognize us! That definitely makes us happy! Ryuseitai is definitely happy!” Chiaki said as he crouched down to meet the child eye to eye. “Are you here with your parents? You shouldn’t stray too far and make them worry alright?”

The child, still wide-eyed from meeting his hero, nodded at Chiaki.

“Mom said I can get a prize for doing good at school this week!” The child spoke earnestly.

“I see! You’re a good kid! Me and Ryusei Blue are definitely proud of you! I’m sure your teacher is as well!” Chiaki told the kid as he continued to pat the child’s head.

At this point, the child was beaming with more happiness if it was even possible. Then at the mention of the word teacher, the child suddenly remembered.

“AH! That’s right!” The kid spoke up. “My teacher also likes Ryusei Red a lot!! She likes everyone in Ryuseitai, but Red is definitely her favorite! I can’t wait to tell [l/n]-sensei that I saw you guys!”

Then at the mention of the name, Chiaki was suddenly taken aback.

[l/n]

The name repeated itself in his head making him wonder if this was just some weird coincidence. That the name he had just heard was the same one from his dreams.  
Without Chiaki realizing, he suddenly asked the child for his teacher’s name. And the child, not noticing anything different from Chiaki’s sudden reaction, replied to the brunette with the same enthusiastic energy.

“[l/n]-sensei! [l/n] [y/n]-sensei!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to finish this fanfic on Chiaki's birthday... but I obviously failed at that......  
> well that's what he gets since his A to Z card didn't come home during his birthday scout skjdhgksjdh


	4. Chapter 4

Late.

[l/n] [y/n] was late. Or well, she would be if she didn’t sprint all the way to the preschool this instant.

On a normal work day, she wouldn’t really rush this much since the preschool wasn’t really strict on having her arrive on the dot, mostly because mornings usually start with a daily exercise routine to keep the children energized and fit, and she wasn’t usually tasked to lead that, but the assistant teacher.

So why was [y/n] panicking despite all this? Because apparently today of all days, a visitor would be visiting the preschool. Who? She didn’t know, apparently the owner of the preschool wouldn’t disclose the information. This just made her assume that maybe it was that time of the year where the preschool gets inspected just to see if the school is doing well, and have a positive impact on the students and all that technical stuff.  
  
[y/n] ran as fast as she could towards the preschool, and relief slowly painted her face as she saw the school just a few blocks away. Seven minutes, she was seven minutes late, but it shouldn’t hurt since it’s still the morning exercises, and all she had to do was avoid the visitors from seeing her.

As she was formulating her plan while walking, she suddenly heard a familiar voice as she got closer to the school.

Loud masculine energetic voice. Where had she heard this before?

Then as she finally set foot on the preschool, there on the very playground just in front of the classroom building, not only did she see her students, counting around more or less 20 children, she also saw 5 other people wearing bright colorful outfits, each person having a different color. The one that caught [y/n]’s attention was the one leading the group, or well, basically leading everyone in the playground.

“Alright! Good job! Now just five more jumping jacks! Good! You are all on your way to becoming great heroes!!”

It was Morisawa Chiaki.

He stood in front of the kids, counting out loud and showing them how each exercise is done. The rest of Ryuseitai stood with the children, guiding those who had a hard time following. The children of course were much more motivated than usual, seeing that their idols, or to be exact, heroes, were there in their school.

[y/n] couldn’t help but just stand and stare at what she saw.  
Was the man she was seeing really him? She didn’t want to say it, but it was literally the man of her dreams right there and then. [y/n] only realized that she had been standing and staring for quite some time when a voice called out to her.

“[l/n]-sensei, you’re here.” It was the assistant teacher. “I was worried that you might not be in school today… Did something happen?”

[y/n] shook her head in response. “I just overslept, but those are… I mean are they really…”

The assistant teacher, realizing what [y/n] was talking about smiled and explained. “I’m not exactly sure of the details, but I did overhear the owner saying that it was Ryuseitai’s leader who requested to be here in our preschool and wanted to keep it a secret. I guess he wanted to surprise the kids.”

[y/n] couldn’t help but just nod at what her fellow teacher had just said, but a part of her felt like that wasn’t the entire reason why Ryuseitai was here, especially if it was true that the leader of the group was the one that requested to be here today. Yet she didn’t dwell on her thoughts for long seeing how she had to get ready for the day.  
She headed towards the classroom like she always does, greeting all the children exercising in the playground as she passed by, and each child smiled back at her in response, while some called out to her. What [y/n] didn’t notice as she went inside the classroom was Morisawa Chiaki watching her figure leave the playground.

* * *

After morning exercises were done, [y/n] went straight to her usual teaching routine, or well that was her initial plan if only she wasn’t distracted by the preschool’s five guests.

She had honestly thought that the group wouldn’t take part in the class sessions, but here they were, sitting and interacting with the kids.  
Kanata, the blue haired male, as she remembered from her dream, was faring well with the kids. Then there was Tetora who blended way too well with the boys in her class, Shinobu on the other hand was in a bit of a panic, but he was doing way better compared to the tallest Ryuseitai member, Takamine Midori. It was only the start of class where the kids were trying to settle down, and he looked like he was about to pass out from all the energy the kids were throwing at him.

‘Poor guy…’ [y/n] thought to herself as she watched the light haired brunette. She can tell that Midori was trying his best, but he was definitely not used to interacting with children for long periods of time, especially the types that literally try to cling on to him or throw 10 questions per minute.

As [y/n] continued to watch her students interact with their guests, she didn’t realize that one of the said guests were approaching her.

“[l/n]-sensei!”

The voice jolted her a bit from her earlier reverie and saw Morisawa Chiaki now standing in front of her desk.

“Y-Yes? Did you need something Morisawa-san?” she tried to say as calmly as she could, but hell she was definitely nervous with her stuttering a bit.

Chiaki instantly noticed how he surprised the teacher, and went on to apologize as he scratched the back of his head. “Oh! I’m sorry, I must have surprised you.”

[y/n] shook her head trying to reassure the brunette that it was fine and he had nothing to apologize for. She then realized that this is the first time she’s actually seen the male up close outside of her dreams. Every feature distinctly familiar thanks to the dreams she had, Chiaki’s amber eyes, his boyish smile, and the soft brown hair that her dream self had always wiped away from his face. All these details about him were so familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar, for she knew that the man that stood before her was not Morisawa Chiaki, captain of the guards, but Morisawa Chiaki, leader of Ryuseitai.

“Is there something wrong? Did you need something?” [y/n] asked him. If anything, this was also her way of letting her straying thoughts disappear. She didn’t want any negative thoughts entering her head knowing that despite how much she knew the male in front of her thanks to her dreams, there was a high chance it wasn’t the same for him. So more than anything, [y/n] just wanted to get through this day by doing her job well along with their guests, Ryuseitai.

“Ah! Right!” Chiaki said as he placed both of his hands on top of [y/n]’s desk excitedly. “Since me and the rest of Ryusetai will be staying here until class ends, I was wondering how we could help you with these kids!”

“Oh!” [y/n] replied, now that she thought about it, it would be pretty weird if this idol unit just stayed in a kindergarten class without doing anything. “Uhm… let me see my plan for the day…”

The teacher then took out her notebook from her bag and opened it, and gestured to Chiaki to sit on the vacant chair beside her.  
As Chiaki sat down, [y/n] continued to look at her notebook filled with different notes and doodles, which the brunette had assumed was all related to her work.

“Here.” [y/n] pushed the notebook a bit closer to Chiaki’s side of the table and pointed at a certain part of her notes. “Well, aside from the usual lesson proper, I was planning on doing a storytelling session today.”

“I see!” Chiaki replied cheerfully. “Will the story be related to the lesson?”

[y/n] nodded at the male and said, “If you don’t mind, would it be alright if you and your friends handled the storytelling part? I mean it’s not everyday the kids here see their heroes in action… I mean if that is alright with you!”

The teacher spoke the last few words a bit hesitantly, not wanting to push too much work on the idols. Even if Chiaki did insist on helping out, they were still guests, and she didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable while they were in the preschool. Luckily her worries were easily pushed away thanks to Chiaki’s cheerful response.

“Storytelling, huh? I’ll tell the rest of Ryuseitai about this so we can prepare! We’ll definitely make sure to give these kids a great performance!”

And just like that, Chiaki bounced off to meet with his friends and talk about what they had to do.  
As [y/n] watched this, she couldn’t help but smile. Thinking that the Chiaki she is seeing now was very similar to the one that she saw in her dreams, her so-called past life. With that, she resigned herself that even though this might be the last time she will see the energetic male, she was still glad that she still got to be with him in this current lifetime even if it was a short while.  
  


* * *

  
The day went on smoothly, with her teaching the class while Ryuseitai sat with the kids and tried to participate with them during the lesson, and the day ended with a very fun and interactive heroic story that the idol unit acted out in front of the children.  
It was pretty obvious that each student really enjoyed Ryuseitai’s presence as they didn’t want them to leave once school was over. Some of the kids even asked their parents to have their photos taken with the idol unit, which the group happily obliged with.

Soon enough everyone said their farewells, the kids all went home, some with their parents, some on their own, and the members of Ryuseitai had changed out of their idol outfits and left to wherever they had to be. [y/n] on the other hand was left on her own in the classroom to clean up a bit.

Once [y/n] was sure that everything was in its proper place, and no one left anything behind, she herself decided to get ready to go home.  
She then grabbed her bag from her desk and got ready to lock the room. Once she was sure the room was locked, she didn’t notice that someone was still in the playground sitting on one of the swings.

When the said person noticed [y/n], he instantly stood up and walked up to her.

“[l/n]-sensei! Are you done?” He gave her a boyish smile.

It was Morisawa Chiaki.

[y/n] couldn’t help but stare at the male in front of her. Did he actually wait for her to finish? What about his friends? Were they also here?  
Questions kept on swirling inside her head not knowing what to ask first, but she knew she had to say something rather than leave him hanging.

“Yeah, I just finished... Did you leave something?” [y/n] asked.

“No, I was actually waiting for you.”

“Huh?” She was speechless.

She didn’t know how to react to what Chiaki had just said. To think that an idol, the popular Ryusei Red was actually waiting for her to finish work. She just couldn’t wrap her head around it. Why was he waiting? Did he need something? What is going on?

Then flashes of images of her past life came back to her, the times where Chiaki would always wait for her to finish her work in the orphanage just so he could spend a bit of time with her, no matter how long or short it was, all that mattered was they had time to themselves. And it made her wonder, was this the same thing? No. She didn’t want to think that, because at the end of the day, she wasn’t even sure if the man in front of her even had the same visions during his sleep. That maybe all this time, she was just fantasizing some crazy one sided dream.

That’s right, maybe a part of her just wanted to believe that maybe, somehow she could be connected to this amazing person standing right in front of her. Or that maybe all her recurring dreams were just some kind of joke the world wanted to play on her.

She couldn’t help but clench her fists on the hem of her blouse and look at the ground. Her thoughts bubbling shame on her, but before she could drown even further in these thoughts, the brunette in front of her spoke once again.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

His voice was soft this time, unlike his usual booming cheerful voice.

_‘I couldn’t save you’_

His words echoed through her head, and she couldn’t help but instantly look at Chiaki. Her eyes wide from shock due to the sudden revelation.

_‘I couldn’t save you’_

Save her? Could it be that all this time, he also had the same dreams as her. That maybe, this past life thing was real?

But due to [y/n]’s silence, Chiaki had started to panic and was planning on taking his words back.

“I-I’m sorry! That didn’t make sense! Ahaha… What I meant was…” as he tried to explain himself, he suddenly noticed the tears that started falling on [y/n]’s face.

This only increased Chiaki’s panic.

“OH NO! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way! Wait! I’ll get my handkerchief!” The brunette was blabbering at this point.  
Once he got his handkerchief from his pocket, he immediately proceeded to use it to gently wipe away [y/n]’s tears.

“I-I’m really sorry… I didn’t mean to make you cry.” he told her.

As he continued wiping away her tears, he suddenly felt [y/n] hold the hand he was using to wipe her tears. The gesture instantly froze the male in place.  
He then felt the girl in front of him shake her head slowly and look up at him, making him realize how close they were to each other.

“No… I’m sorry for leaving you...for dying… I’m so sorry, Chiaki.” His name on her lips was barely a whisper, but he clearly heard her say it.

So in that very moment, Chiaki engulfed [y/n] in a strong warm embrace. Not strong enough to hurt her, but enough to comfort her. His face buried in the crook of her neck, while her hands clung on the back of his shirt.

The two stayed that way without saying anything. It was as if the nightmares they had been getting, nightmares of death, nightmares of broken promises, the nightmare of their tragic past life, it was as if all those were fading away now that they were finally together.

“So it really did happen.” [y/n] whispered into Chiaki’s shoulder, and she could feel him smile from the crook of her neck.

Slowly, the brunette had loosened his grip on [y/n], so he could see her face clearly, but he made sure that as he loosened his grip, he was still holding her in his arms.

The two looked at each other, and there Chiaki gave [y/n] the warmest smile she had ever seen.  
Then the brunette told her, “I’m sorry it took me this long to keep my promise, but always know that no matter how many lifetimes pass us by, I will always come back to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, i had a different scenario planned out for the ending, but it just didn't mesh well with the story, so I had to rewrite the entire chapter all together, but as i was rewriting, life caught up and i was too busy to finish this earlier on... but here we are!~
> 
> Anyways I really enjoyed writing this reincarnation/soulmate au, so might write more for other characters /side eyes izumi AHAHAH   
> but we'll see where my energy and motivation takes me...


End file.
